


Los Angeles (When Will You Save Me)

by bittersweetmemory



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Just read, Los Angeles, M/M, My First Work in This Fandom, Nixon owns a bar, Relationship(s), Work In Progress, babe is a bartender and a student, babe may just like hospitals after all, but not for long, doc roe is a doctor, eugene is our little cajun medic, i don't know how to tag, idiots who need to confess their feelings, please, pranks go wrong because why wouldn't they
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-02-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 08:02:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9428777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bittersweetmemory/pseuds/bittersweetmemory
Summary: If anyone ever asked, Babe would swear that he is not clumsy, it wasn't even his fault and could've lived rightly without going to the hospital.If anyone ever asked, Eugene would step in and argue that as a matter of fact, he needed to go to the hospital, and that it was the best decision Babe has ever made. Even if he didn't make it himself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first piece of work since joining the Band of Brothers fandom. Apologies if characterisation is a little off. 
> 
> This piece of work is entirely fictional and based upon the characters from the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers. It is in no way, shape or form, created with any intent to offend the actual men the characters are based on.
> 
> Title is taken from the song Los Angeles by Blink-182.

Nix Winters was possibly one of the most popular bars near UCLA – a place where many people, aside from students, went to have a drink and enjoy the friendly, welcoming atmosphere. It was opened in 2009 by the infamous Lewis Nixon; husband of the charming Dick Winters, hence the name of the establishment. In defiance against his strict family, Nixon decided he no longer wanted to attend university so he dropped out and used the money he had (which his parents wish the could’ve taken back to stop their son from making such a ‘foolish’ decision) and bought the run-down bar that was known as Pinkerton’s at the time. He poured his heart and soul into renovating the bar and creating a name for himself, and he succeeded.

The bar was managed during the day by Carwood Lipton, or mama Lip as he became known as, and managed at night by Harry Welsh. The men were long-time friends, and the only people Nixon trusted at the time of opening to look after his bar. He would manage it himself, but he would much rather stick to office work in the back or joining people at the bar to have a drink.

Five years ago, Nixon took a chance on Joseph Liebgott, a snarky university drop out who spent most nights in the bar drinking himself stupid and starting fights with customers, and he’ll be damned if he didn’t believe it was the best decision he had ever made. Liebgott was the best head bartender he could have simply because he didn’t take shit from _anybody_ and was excellent at breaking up fights (or joining them, but who was Nix to judge?) which saved Nixon the effort of having to hire security to work the slightly rowdier nights.

Almost four years later, Nixon took another chance by hiring Babe Heffron. Babe moved from South Philly with his friends to attend university and had zero work experience under his belt, but something about the boy appealed to Nixon so he hired him on probation to work as a bartender, and eventually kept him full time. Dick would tell him that he was soft and was secretly the mum of them all, but Nixon would just argue that he liked his staff to be interesting. And interesting they were.

 

***

 

Babe tapped his pen against the table as he listened to Bill prattle on about something with George, trying to ignore the sound of everyone laughing at what they were saying. He had a test first thing tomorrow morning and a shift tonight, so he was running out of time to cram in the last of the small amount of revision he had decided to do. Why he even bothered he wasn’t sure, but he felt like he should at least try because hey, what harm would it do?

“Oi, Heffron, are you even listenin’ to what we’re sayin’?" Bill asked as he leaned into Babe’s line of vision, a smile pulling at his lips, "George was tellin’ the story about Perconte dropping the box of metal on Prof Compton’s foot." He continued as Perconte tried to defend himself, "It was an accident!" He groaned, kicking Bill under the table.

“As amusing as it truly sounds I am trynna revise for this exam tomorrow.” Babe said with a weak gesture to the textbook and notes that were scribbled on his notepad, writing barely legible in his haste. He knew nobody was going to take him seriously but he figured it was worth a shot, maybe they’d _listen_ for once, just once, and let Babe have five minutes’ peace to try to memorise the legislation he needed to learn.

“Revise?!” Luz exclaimed like he didn’t know what it even was, a laugh bubbling up as he spoke. “Since when did the almighty Babe Heffron give a damn about his exams?”

Babe huffed, hurling a pen at Luz and inevitably starting up a ruckus, the rest of the boys join in and throwing stationary at each other. He was about to lift his text book and start beating Julian with it when his phone vibrated on the table. He threw the book down and picked up his phone, unlocking it and opening the message from Carwood.

_Hey Babe, the bar is busier than we anticipated and we were wondering if you would be able to come in early and help us out? It would be a great help if you could. Lip._

Babe shot a text back letting Lipton know that he didn’t mind and was on his way. After all, he could do with the extra money what with all the pranks the boys were pulling lately and wrecking stuff in their apartment. Living with 3 boys was more expensive that Babe would have ever imagined.

“I’ve gotta get to the bar before Liebgott starts tellin’ customers to fuck off.” He gathered his stuff as he got up, throwing his backpack onto his shoulder.

“Well, why don’t we go and get some drinks boys!” Luz grinned wickedly, patting the table to grab everyone’s attention. “Lord knows we could do with it after all of the hard work we have been doing today.” Everyone happily agreed and they left the library, walking down to Nix Winters and greeting Lipton as they entered.

“Boy, you are a life saver.” Lipton said with a polite smile as Babe made his way into the back, setting his stuff down next to Liebgott’s. “Joe was getting snarkier with each customer and we all know how that would end if we didn’t get someone in to help out.”

“It ain’t a problem Lip, wasn’t doin’ anything anyway.” Babe lied.

He knew if he even breathed word about having an exam tomorrow Lipton would worry and tell him to go home and revise, leaving Liebgott to man the bar, alone. As fun as that would be to witness, he didn’t want to put the stress on Lipton because the man was good to him. He grinned at Lipton who seemed relieved and headed out to the bar, patting Liebgott on the shoulder to let him know he was here and starting taking orders.

 

***

 

The evening rush eventually died down after two hours. The two bartenders spent it filling in free time talking about Joe’s boyfriend, Web, and the book about sharks that he was dying to write. They managed to have only one incident of Liebgott nearly staring a fight with a customer who had too much to drink and wasn’t in the shape to consume anymore. The guy didn’t think so and started getting lippy, which Liebgott was quick to dish out in return. Babe said a silent prayer to whoever was watching over them today because he didn’t want to have to step in and break it up.

“Fuckin’ idiots.” Liebgott grumbled angry as he cleaned the counter, watching a group of men shout and laugh loudly. “Think at that age they’d fuckin’ know better, y’know? But here they are, makin’ a fuckin’ mess.”

“Ah Joe, they’re jus’ havin’ a laugh, there’s no need to get angry.” Babe said with a laugh. Sure, cleaning up their mess wasn’t his favourite part of the day, but they weren’t doing anybody any harm right now so he didn’t see the problem.

“You can have a laugh without breakin’ any of our fuckin’ glasses.” Liebgott countered as he heard a third smash coming from the group of men. ‘’Fuckin’ lucky they’re twice the size of me or I’d be over there lettin’ them know what I think.”

Babe just shook his head, grinning. He knew it wasn’t their size that was the problem, but the fact that Lipton’s boyfriend was here tonight and would probably break Lieb’s neck if he caused Lip any problems.

God, he loved this place.

 

***

 

Babe was fucked. He was so very fucked and he knew it, but there was nothing he could do. He slept in to begin with, leaving him with only ten minutes to get ready. When he tried to take a shower, he discovered that Julian had once again used all the warm water, thus leaving him standing under a freezing cold shower, raining down on him mockingly. To top it all off, he ran straight into a bunch of first years on his way into the university and spilt coffee all over them and himself, meaning he had to do his exam with a soaked top and an attitude that would put Liebgott’s to shame. It was safe to say today was not Babe’s day.

Babe left his exam and thanked his lucky stars that he didn't cry in public as he tried to give answers to questions he wasn't sure he even understood. He wanted to go back to his flat and maybe have a nice cry - on his own, or possibly help himself to Bill’s impressive stash of alcohol and drink until he couldn’t remember where he was. That sounded appealing. Instead, he kept his promise of meeting his friends outside of the university to get lunch.

“I’m sure it can’t have been that bad,” Spina tried to reassure him as they walked into the moderately empty café, giving him a small pat on the back. “And look at the bright side, it was just one exam. Woulda been a whole lot worse if you went into every exam like that.”

“I may as well!” Babe groaned. “I barely have time to revise with the amount of shifts I’m doing over the next two weeks. I don’t know how so many students have the time to go out and drink when we have exams, but I sure as hell don’t have the time to work so many hours and stay on top of my revision.” Complaining wasn’t going to do him any good, but it felt nice to get it off his chest.

“Why don’t you talk to Carwood?” Bill said looking up from his phone for a moment. “I’m sure he’d understand that you have exams and you’re not feeling prepared for them”

“I don’t wanna stress him out. Nix said he’d consider hiring someone else to cover shifts so Lieb and I aren’t stretched thin, but I don’t think he has gotten around to it. Either that or he has forgotten.” Babe said.

“I mean, I guess I could talk to Dick and see if he could bring it up to Nix. He’d probably be able to convince Nixon to do it.”

“I think he’s probably the only person capable of convincin’ Nixon to do anything.’’ Julian pointed out.

Babe sat down at the table near the window and sighed heavily, deciding it was his best option. It was either that or fail his exams and he wasn’t sure if he could find the strength inside himself to repeat them. He took his phone out and sent a text to Dick.

_Dick, don’t wanna be a pain in the ass but I’m gonna be a pain in the ass. Could you talk Nix into hiring another bartender? Even just a temp so I can revise for my exams. Gonna fail them if I don’t get studyin._

He read over it before hitting send, blocking out the conversation that had started up about an impending prank war George was planning on declaring. He had bigger things to worry about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm excited about this story because I honestly love baberoe so much, as well as the characters involved as sparkling individuals. This is baberoe centric, however, other couples in the story will get their moments too. This is just breaking into the story gently. I don't want to rush anything too much.
> 
> My hours at work are low at the moment, so I should hopefully be able to update regularly so long as I don't lose interest in this. 
> 
> Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy it enough to stick along for the ride!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please kindly excuse any grammatical errors or spelling mistakes, i will go over this again tomorrow or the day after when my eyes don't feel like giving up from staring at the screen for so long.

It was a quiet Thursday at Nix Winters, the establishment hosting the regulars who liked to be here when it wasn’t overrun with students trying to make the most of the cheap pints and shots that Nixon was probably making a loss on. He aimed to please.

Babe was wiping down the counter when he heard the door open, looking up to see if anybody interesting had arrived. He watched as the man pulled his scarf off and shook the rain out of his curly hair, approaching the bar with a nervous smile.

“Web, how are ya?” Babe asked, already grabbing a glass to get Web a coke. He didn’t drink on Thursday’s, tonight was his book club night.

“I’m good,’’ Web sat down and placed his satchel on the counter, accepting the coke that Babe placed in front of him. “Is Lieb in the back?”

As if sensing that Web was looking for him, Liebgott stuck his head out, hair falling over his forehead a little as he smirked.

“You called, princess?” He walked out and slung a towel over his shoulder, leaning against the bar to flash Web a grin. Babe watched as a blush dispersed across Web’s cheeks, muttering something about not wanting to be called princess. He doubted that would stop Liebgott.

Web cleared his throat and took a deep breath, trying not to get over excited and start talking fast – he knew Lieb would probably tune him out if he did that and he wanted him to listen to what he had to say. It was important to him.

“I’ve decided that I’m going to go to Europe, so I can see the sharks that inhabit the Mediterranean Sea and write about them for my book.”

Babe raised a brow as he saw Liebgott straighten up, no longer leaning over the counter to watch Web with almost predatory like eyes. He felt the atmosphere shift and decided to move himself down the counter so it didn’t look like he was imposing on what he figured was now about to become a very public private conversation. He knew better than to get involved when it came to Web and Liebgott; unless things got out of control and he had to stamp down on it for the sake of the bar and their jobs.

“Europe huh?” Liebgott sneered, his attempt to act uninterested cracking almost instantly and leading straight into turning angry. “Just that desperate to get away from me or somethin’?”

Web blanched, eyes wide and mouth open as he tried to think of something to say, something intelligent that wouldn’t make matters any worse. “This is important to me!”

“Oh, and I ain’t? Well then fuckin’ run off to Europe and enjoy your stupid fuckin’ sharks!’’ Liebgott shouted, throwing his towel at Web in what Babe thought was quite a petulant manner.

“When did I say that you’re not important to me, Lieb?’’ Web shouted right back at his boyfriend. “You _always_ do this! You never seem to let me enjoy the things I love without having to make it all about you. I’m not the bad guy here, I’ve done absolutely fuck all wrong and you’re just being stupid!”

Babe whistled softly, cringing internally because that escalated quickly, even for them. He glanced around and was relieved to see that nobody in the bar had even flinched at the argument. Everyone really was that used to it. The two of them were always at each other’s throats about something, even the most insignificant things that could easily be talked about like calm, mature adults. Web and Lieb clearly weren’t capable of doing either of those.

“Oh fuck off Web! You’re so fuckin’ selfish, never thinkin’ about how the shit you do affects the people around you. We get that you’re used to having things your own way, but it’s time to fuckin’ group up and stop acting like a child!”

“What the fuck is your problem, Joseph?” Webster spat. His eyes were watering and he was breathing heavily, clearly on the verge of his angry tears episode.

“Nah, fuck this. I’m getting’ the fuck outta here before you starting greeting like some privileged little brat.”

Babe realised that yes, now was probably the time to intervene, but in his defence Liebgott could probably knock him out cold right now without even having to put much effort into it. It was up to the two of them to storm off, calm down, and hopefully resolve things over the next couple of days. Or at least carry on without bringing it up and act like the conversation never even happened until Web brings it up again. They were idiots, truly insufferable, but Babe knew Lieb better than people gave him credit for. He caught on pretty quickly that Lieb was annoyed about not being asked to go with Web, and didn’t know how to tell him that he felt that way.

“Yeah Lieb, walk away and fucking sulk about how hard done by you are!” Babe heard Webster shout as Liebgott stormed out of the building, not even bothering to look back as he shouted an angry _fuck you_ and flipped Web the bird.

Babe cast Webster an apologetic smile before going to serve a customer.

 

***

 

An hour after Liebgott and Webster’s big bust, Nixon appeared for the first time in the bar in nearly two weeks with Dick, the two men chatting away quietly amongst themselves as they entered. Nixon looked rough. Seemed like he had another one of his benders and decided that he didn’t need to face humanity until Dick deemed it unhealthy and chastised him about being locked away in their house for long enough.

“Babe, just the person we wanted to see.” Dick said with a friendly smile. Babe had always liked Dick.

“We’re hiring another bartender.” Nixon supplied, getting straight to the point. “Although, I could’ve sworn we had two of you on tonight. Where the hell is Joe?”

Babe laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck, appearing a little sheepish. “Yeah, uh.. you see, Web came in an’ was all happy about some sorta shark book he wants to write, and told Lieb that he wants to go all the way to Europe for it, an’ Lieb didn’t take it too well so they got into one of their fucking fights and he stormed out.”

This wasn’t the first time that Babe had to tell Nixon about Liebgott leaving work because of a fight, but it never got easier. Nixon always had this look that resembled that of a betrayed mother who found of their child had killed someone.

“Christ.” Nixon groaned.

Babe let the two men get on with their conversations and worked on tidying the tables, wiping them down so they were clean for any new customers that came in. He was moving onto the fourth table, picking up the empty pint glasses and stacking them when he overheard Nixon and Winters’ conversation.

“Eugene said he is finally going to come and see the bar again. Can you believe it has been over a year, and he hasn’t even bothered to come here until today.”

“He has a busy life, Nixon, we can’t expect him to drop everything just to come and have a few drinks with us.”

“But I miss him! Even Harry was complaining that he needed to show up at least once a month, for old times’ sake, y’know?”

Now, Babe didn’t necessarily mean to eavesdrop. It was awfully quiet in the bar so it couldn’t really be helped. He felt giddy, and nervous. He had heard many stories about Eugene, the doctor from Louisiana that Nixon, Winters, Harry and Lipton loved dearly, and was unbelievably fascinated by him. He never got to meet the man either because when he moved to LA to start university, Eugene had gone back to Louisiana to help out at a clinic that he used to volunteer at when he was younger. He came back at the beginning of Babe’s second year but he never showed his face in the bar, and to this day Babe felt giddy hearing about him. There was something about the way he was described that made Babe want to get to know him more.

“Did you say Eugene is coming?” He interrupted what Nixon was saying. “As in, mister saves lives on the daily an’ everyone seems to know and love yet I haven’t had the chance to meet him?”

Nixon rolled his eyes. Babe had asked many questions about his friend and as sweet as it was, it got a little old over time. He went to go help himself to a bottle of Vat 69 and poured himself a nice, generous glass, taking a swig before speaking.

“Yes, Babe.” He laughed. “Eugene is coming tonight, you can hang around after your shift if you’re that desperate to meet him.”

Babe blushed, stuttering out an indignant _what_ in response. He wasn’t desperate, he was simply curious, and he always knew it was better to feed his curiosity now to save everyone the pain of having to listen to him go on about something incessantly until he got over it. He didn’t understand why everyone found his fascination with Eugene so entertaining.

 

***

 

Babe couldn’t believe his luck. Of course, this had to happen because when could he catch a break? He was waiting after his shift with Nixon and Winters, having a drink (took a bit of convincing to get Winters on board with letting him consume a drop of alcohol but they got there) when his phone went off. He should have ignored it and just let it go to voicemail, he really should have, but it was Bill’s ringtone and he would’ve felt bad.

“What do you mean you need me to come home immediately?” Babe groaned.

 _“Well, Luz, the fucking maniac, decided it would be a good idea to stick hair dye in Julian’s shampoo, so now the idiot is walking around with green hair!”_ Exclaimed Bill on the other end of the phone, sounding both utterly scandalised and amused.

“How did he even get the hair dye into the shampoo bottle in the fucking first place?”

 _“We don’t know! That’s the fucking crazy part Babe, the man must be a ninja or somethin- oi, Perconte, don’t move a muscle or I’ll tackle y’to the ground!”_ Bill must’ve pulled away from the phone to shout, and Babe sat patiently waiting, shrugging when Winters’ asked what was happening.

 _“Anyway,”_ Bill continued. _“We need to plan our attack, and there’s no way you’re getting’ out of it. We need ya, Babe.”_

“Alright alright, keep your undies on Bill. I’ll be back in fifteen.”

Babe despised his friends sometimes, and he was going to make sure that they made it up to him after this because he was missing something important damn it.

He gave Nixon and Winters’ a quick summary of what was happening back at his and said his goodbyes. On his way out, he knocked into a man with inky black hair, almost knocking him on his ass. Thankfully the man grabbed his arm before he could fall and make a right fool out of himself. He looked up to offer an apology when he noticed how nice the man’s eyes were. They seemed soft, but a little apprehensive, like he wasn’t sure if he should be the one to speak first. His stupidly nice eyebrows were knitted together and his lips were slightly pursed, but they relaxed into something short of a smile when he noticed Babe was just staring.

“Y’might wanna start payin’ more attention there next time.” He spoke in a deep Louisiana drawl, but there was something else there, something he couldn’t quite place in his awestruck state, and Babe could’ve sworn he saw stars as he listened to the man’s voice.

‘’Shit, fuck, I’m sorry.” He said, looking down when he felt the hand let go. He blushed darkly and muttered another quick apology before rushing off down the street. He glanced back to get another look at the man but he had already entered the bar.

 

***

 

“…and he had the softest lookin’ back hair I think I have ever laid my unworthy eyes on.” Babe finished his description of the mystery man with a dreamy sigh, chin resting on his elbow as he leaned against the kitchen counter.

All the way back to their apartment it was all he could think about. How soft the man’s hair was and how much he wanted to touch it to test if it was true – and maybe run his fingers through it, possibly tug a little and see if he could get the man to respond; how deep his voice was yet so smooth, like warm honey. It was a voice he could definitely listen to all day. He wanted to know more about him but he wasn’t sure he would ever see him again. He didn’t even know his name.

“Fuckin’ hell Babe, you high or something?” Bill snorted, throwing a crisp at Babe.

“You weren’t there Bill, he’s the prettiest person I’ve seen in my entire life.” He said, munching on the crisp that had just hit him in the fact. “And his voice, fuck me.”

“Did you ask him if he would?” Julian snickered.

“If he would what?”

“Fuck you.” Everyone laugh as Babe’s face turned bright red.

All Babe knew was, he was determined to meet the man again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's frustrating because in microsoft word your work seems a lot longer, then you stick it on here and it's not. very deceiving and infuriating. 2262 words guys; that's good for me.
> 
> anyway, i decided since chapter one was just sticking a toe into the water to test it out, that i would post chapter two as well so that we finally got gene into it!!
> 
> thank you for reading!! much appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Babe learns that George Luz will do what it takes to be prank king, unfortunately.

 

The past week of Babe’s life had been interesting and definitely dramatic (as dramatic as it could get given the circumstances of the drama). The prank war was well under way, and because of how seriously they seemed to be taking it, they all had to keep small pocket notebooks documenting the pranks against their group and the retaliation.

  1. _George Luz vandalised our beautiful apartment by covering it in pictures of Nicholas Cage like what the fuck Luz ???_
  2. _Julian retaliated by managing to get into Toye’s phone and changed the word hungry to horny_
  3. _Frank Perconte the evil bastard left what turned out to be chocolate covered onions NOT APPLES in the apartment which I sadly ate and they were rotten_
  4. _We made magnificent mayonnaise filled donuts that we somehow got Luz, Perconte and Toye to eat and we don’t know how the fuck we succeeded with that one_
  5. _OREOS FILLED WITH FUCKING TOOTHPASE THAT WAS CRUEL_
  6. _Got ‘em back with food colouring in their toothpaste HA took precision but it was worth it_
  7. _Glitter in our letters. GLITTER. Luz is a monster I am still finding glitter in random places it haunts me_
  8. _Bill had the stomach to get bags of dog shit from a bin and send them to the lads so we are expecting carnage in return so if I die tell my ma I love her_



“Are you telling me, that Bill actually rummaged through public bins in order to obtain dog shit?” Nixon asked incredulously as he looked up from the little notebook, pushing it across the counter and back to Babe.

“Fuck yeah,” Babe laughed. “Was a funny sight, people were horrified to see him pulling the bags out and actually sniffing them to see if they were the ripest.”

Nixon screwed his nose up, evidently unimpressed by the sheer thought of actually sniffing the bags. “That’s grim, Babe, even for you guys.”

Babe grinned wolfishly and gave a small shrug of his shoulders in response, finding the entire thing rather amusing. He knew it was grim, and he refused to let Bill sit on their sofa until he had two showers just to be safe, but it was so worth it in the end. He never thought he’d see the day Joe Toye actually dry heaved – the man normally had a stomach made of steel. It was magnificent. Perconte vomited which ok, wasn’t exactly what they were aiming for because it didn’t really help their cause in respect to the retaliation they would be receiving from this one, but it was pretty priceless.

“You boys are screwed.”

"Ah c’mon Nix! Have a little faith in us would ya?” Babe rolled his eyes. “Whatever they dish out at us in retaliation, we can hand right back to them but ten times worse. We’ve got this in the bag, I’m tellin’ ya.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, I mean, this is George Luz you are dealing with here and I don’t think he is going to rest until he has handed your ass to you and declared himself prank king.” Nixon said.

Babe knew that Nixon was right and Luz wouldn’t possibly let them win this in a million years because then his reputation would be scarred and he’d never live it down. He always had a flare for the dramatics after all. Maybe getting into a prank war with Luz wasn’t their brightest decision to date, but it was far too late to back out now with the damage they had done with their latest retaliation. All they could do now was brace themselves for whatever was inevitably coming their way.

“Yeah man, I think we’re screwed.”

 

***

 

“Is that all of them?”

“No that’s not all of them don’t be stupid.”

“How was I ‘sposed to know that’s not all of them, I wasn’t the one who bought them was I?”

“Common sense, this clearly wouldn’t be enough.”

“It looks like enough to me.”

“Fuck off Frank, this ain’t enough.”

George sighed and sat back for a minute, surveying the mess of items in front of him. They were currently cracking eggs into a bucket, a little mountain off eggshells building up next to it as they worked away. They had to mix in some homemade slime to the eggs just to make it even more uncomfortable for the boys. The bucket next to it was going to be used for a mixture of feathers and glitter because he knew how much fun they had with the glitter the first time around.

“How is this worse than the dog shit, Luz?” Toye asked.

“Well dear Joeseph, the eggs and slime are going to be cold and horrible to touch so when it falls on them, it will be exceptionally gross because c’mon, eggs aren’t nice. Once the feathers and glitter hits them, it is going to be an absolute nightmare to get off and the glitter will get everywhere because it somehow always manages to.”

“I don’t know man, I think getting dog shit mailed to ya is worse than this.” Perconte said sheepishly, sticking a finger into the egg bucket and screwing his face up upon encountering the gooey substance.

“You always underestimate me.” George pointed at Frank accusingly. “I’d hate to deal with this mess.”

“I guess..” Toye spoke lowly.

They would be convinced when he saw it in action, he knew they would. There was no way on earth they wouldn’t want to deal with this over dog shit in letters because the shit wasn’t on them. This will be.

“I mean, at least it’s safe and nobody is getting hurt.” Perconte added as an afterthought. “No point going that far when some of us still have important exams coming up.”

“Atta boy Perco!” Luz grinned.

He had to make three more trips to the shop when he realised that they in fact didn’t have enough eggs as the plan wasn’t well thought through. They needed multiple buckets to ensure that they were getting at least all four of them with the gooey concoction otherwise if wouldn’t be worth it. It was turning out to be an expensive prank, so it would need to succeed or Luz was going to be incredibly pissed off.

They got to work on creating the slime to add in with the eggs, making sure that it was runny enough to slide out quickly rather than slowly roll out and possibly jeopardise the entire thing. Once it was added into the buckets they mixed it, testing the consistency of which it fell from a height, and added a bit more so that the buckets were starting to drip over the edges a bit as they got them situated above the door and linked with it so that when it was opened they would rain down over their unsuspecting victims.

“Need to be sure we hit ‘em with as much as possible.” George had explained as he added more into the buckets.

Next came the buckets with glitter and feathers. Rather than mixing them like they had originally planned to do, they decided that they would have one large bucket of feathers that Joe would throw over them as they walked in, and two smaller buckets of pink glitter that Perconte and George would throw. There was a chance they would only get one person the most with these, and that was whoever walked into the apartment first. George hoped it was Bill because he knew that it was him that went digging for the shit.

‘’Luz, I’ve been meanin’ to ask, how did you even get a key to the apartment anyway?” Perconte asked.

“Easy.” George shrugged. “I got Julian’s key when he wasn’t looking because he was easiest, went to get a copy of it cut rather than keep it because he’d notice if it was gone, and returned it to him before he had a chance to even notice it had been taken for a bit.”

“Easy.” Toye snorted. “You’re actin’ like mad man.”

“It was necessary in order for this to work!”

“Coulda just come up with a different prank.”

“But I liked this one the best. It was the perfect balance of annoying and gross, just enough to top the dog shit prank they got on us. And besides, it’s not like you two woulda come up with anything better, Perco.”

“Y’never asked!”

“Didn’t need to, I had this one!”

“Will you two shut up in case they’re coming back. We don’t know when it’s gonna be and we can’t give ourselves away.” Toye interrupted their bickering. He didn’t care about giving them away, he just wanted them to shut up before they gave him a headache.

“It’ll be worthwhile, boys.” George promised.

It needed to be.

 

***

 

“I’m telling ya Bill, Babe here spent a good fifteen minutes droning on about how pretty this man’s eyes were, I thought I was gonna bring up my lunch.” Spina nudged Babe in the side with a laugh. “Was nauseating.”

“It wasn’t fifteen minutes!” Babe protested but the blush on his face stated otherwise. “And you haven’t seen him, he’s fucking beautiful I swear.”

“You barely seen him yourself, Babe.”

“That ain’t true!”

“You ran into him, he told you to be careful and you stuttered and blushed like a little school girl. We know, you’ve told us multiple times about the encounter, it almost feels like _I_ was the one who ran into him and nearly drooled all over the sidewalk.”

“This is slander!” Babe cried, waving his hands about as he groaned. “I’m being attacked.”

He couldn’t even defend himself, not really, because he _had_ talked about the man he ran into at the bar quite a bit. He couldn’t help himself, he had a tendency to just open his mouth sometimes without thinking and just starting talking without paying much mind to what he was saying or how the people around him were responding to it.

He thought about the man a lot. Wondered if he was thinking about him too; if he was as taken with the encounter as Babe was. He tried to distract himself and look at other guys but his mind would just drift right back to pretty blue eyes and dark, dark hair that stood out against the paleness of his skin. And the stubble, just enough to leave marks if it rubbed against your skin long enough, but Babe would never say that out loud in fear of embarrassing himself even further than he already had. He had never been this smitten over the smallest interaction with a man in his entire life. The man barely even spoke ten words to him, yet here Babe was thinking about him every day since and always watching the door at the bar to see if it was him coming in. He couldn’t be a regular for Babe had never seen him before, but he prayed that he would become one so that he could see him some more. Maybe find out his name, ask him out to dinner if he’s feeling confident enough.

“Earth to space cadet.” He came back to his present reality with a shove, almost tripping over his own feet.

“Careful you eejit.” He chastised with a laugh. “Never interrupt a man when he is thinking that deeply.”

“You’re fuckin’ ridiculous Babe.”  Bill said as he held the door open that lead into their building, ushering them all in.

“No I ain’t.” He took his key out and pointed it at Bill. “I’m simply a man hoping to someday find another man.”

They all laughed and told Babe to _‘get a fuckin’ move on and let us into the apartment already’_ as he fumbled with the key. He unlocked the door and stepped in, looking back to Bill with narrowed eyes.

“You coulda unlocked the do-“ His foot slipped back behind him as he walked forward. He didn’t even have a chance to stop himself from falling or hold his arms out to brace himself when he managed to fall forwards rather than on his arse like he should have because hello, physics. His head hit the corner of the small table next to the coat rack and he was out like a light before he even hit the ground.

“Aw shit.” Luz groaned as he set the bucket down. “The buckets didn’t even tip!”

 

***

 

“I think he’s coming around, his eyelids are fluttering.”

“Don’t they do that when people are in a deep sleep?” That was Perconte, he knew that much.

“I don’t think he’s in a deep sleep dipshit, he knocked himself out cold.”

“Can’t you still dream?”

“I- Can you? I don’t know, we’ll ask him when he wakes up.” And that’s Julian.

“Shu’up.” Babe groaned, sitting up from the slumped position he was in and bringing a hand up to his head when he felt the stinging pain on his temple start to throb. “Where ‘m I?” He opened his eyes but it took them a few minutes to adjust to the sudden light, another groan leaving him because it was a bit intense.

“A&E, you were out for it when you slipped and your head is bleeding so we brought you in.” Spina said softly, handing a cup of water to him. “Shouldn’t be much longer now, isn’t that busy and we filed out your forms for you already.”

Babe hadn’t been to the Ronald Regan UCLA medical centre in a while, which he had been quite proud of because people expected him to be a regular there. Last time was for a broken ankle he got while trying to climb up a tree, while drunk, to make friends with a black cat that he insisted was lonely.

“Heffron?” A sweet, warm voice called, interrupting his thoughts.

Bill helped Babe stand and smiled at the nurse, name tag reading Renee from what Babe could make out as he glanced at her with a smile, leaning into Bill as he walked into the treatment room. He sat up on the bed and leaned back against the wall as Bill took the small seat next to it.

‘’So, Edward, seems like you got yourself a nice gash on your head.” Babe sat up straighter when he heard that Louisiana drawl. “I see you haven’t been payin’ more attention since I saw you last.”

How hard did he hit his head? And was this some sort of cruel prank that Luz had decided to throw in after failing with the last, because if so this is cruel and Babe wanted to be swallowed up by the earth or maybe shot to put him out of his misery.

“You’re a doctor.” He said dumbly.

“I am.” The man smiled and put gloves on. “I’m Doctor Roe, or Doc Roe if you prefer. Most people call me that.” He walked over and tilted Babe’s head back with gentle fingers, getting a better look at the cut on his head.

“Roe.” Babe murmured. The name sounded familiar.

“That’s me.” The doctor, Doc Roe, said with a soft laugh. It was as nice as his voice and Babe would have swooned if it weren’t for the fact the man was holding his head. Right, his head, which was in a lot of pain.

“Gonna gimme some painkillers Doc?” He asked. “It’s hurtin’ quite a bit.”

“You need stitches, so I’m gonna inject the area with some anaesthesia so it doesn’t. You’ll have t’wait for your painkillers ‘m afraid.”

“Eugene.” Babe looked at him. “You’re Nix’s friend.” He ignored Bill’s sudden outburst of laughter and met the doctor’s eyes, his own a little wide and in awe.

“Impressed you caught on that quickly given your state.” He smirked and wow, Babe had never seen something so damn right appealing. It wasn’t a cruel smirk, it was a small teasing one that had his stomach doing summersaults and leaving him feeling like he was back in high school with a crush on that boy a few years above him who was unattainable.

“The doctor.” He felt like he may have mentioned that already judging by the laughed it received from Eugene.

“’M gonna need you to sit still, can you do that for me Heffron?” Eugene let go of Babe’s face and brought a tray over to the bed. He set it down and lifted a syringe off it before moving closer to Babe again, smiling.

“That ain’t my name.”

“Sorry, can you do that for me, _Edward._ ”

“Aw geez Doc, only the nuns call me Edward.” Babe groaned, fixing him with narrowed eyes. “It’s Babe.”

“This will sting a little, but after that you won’t feel pain from the stitches.” Eugene said, fighting off  a smile as Babe let out a small huff. “Gonna need six o’ them, but it’ll close it up nicely for you.”

Babe just nodded and sat still so Eugene could do what needed to be done. He watched him as he stitched his head, wishing he could see his hands work but they were at an angle that his eyes couldn’t reach without having to move his head. His brow was knitted as he worked and all Babe could think about was kissing the spot between those dark eyebrows, and hopefully relax him and smooth the skin out. He noticed that his lips were a little chapped. Was it because he was always biting them? Or maybe he was kissing someone a lot? Babe wanted it to be from biting them too much.

“All done.” He felt Eugene wipe away the blood from his head and dispose of the cloth afterwards. “You’ll need t’ come back in five to seven days and have them removed. Keep an eye on it for any signs of infection, and try to avoid getting any shampoo on it as it may irritate it. I’m giving you some painkillers which you can take for the first couple of days. Take two every four hours, and make sure you ain’t takin’ ‘em on an empty stomach. The pain should ease off before then, but it’s just in case.”

“Will you be the one taking the stitches out?” Babe asked hopefully. The eagerness was probably clear in his eyes, but he wanted an excuse to see the man again. “Feel like I’m in capable hands with ya.” He added on.

“I’ll see what I can do, Edward. Take care of yourself alright?” Eugene handed him a small tub of painkillers and smiled at him one last time before walking out of the room.

“He’s a good lookin’ man.” Bill said for the first time since Babe woke up, and Babe laughed. He sure as hell was a good looking man.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 3136 words!! I have to admit that I'm a little bit proud of myself.
> 
> I would just like to state that I have never been to A&E in my entire life, nor have I needed stitches so sorry if the medical stuff is wrong.
> 
> It'll probably be over a week before I'm able to get the fourth chapter up as I have managed to get hours at work so I'm working 4 days of this upcoming week.
> 
> Thank you for reading!!


	4. Chapter 4

Eugene liked to think that he was a good man and a good doctor. He had been raised well by a loving family and a grandma who taught him how to look after people. “You have a gift, cher,” she would tell him fondly, her calloused hands caressing the soft skin of his cheek. He had watched her lay her hands on people and cure them, absorbing the pain and badness from their bodies, and she would pray. Pray for God to carry the pain away. Eugene would watch in awe of her ability to calm people, to rid them of what ailed them, and vowed that when he grew up he would be like her, no matter what it takes – even if it meant straying from tradition and stepping into the world of modern medicine because he would never be her.

  
“What the hell even happened tonight, Spina?”

  
He had been having a rather calm night working the A&E department at the hospital when Ralph Spina came bustling in with a group of young guys, carrying a ginger kid who he immediately recognised as Babe Heffron; Spina always spoke fondly of Babe when he was shadowing Roe, telling stories of things they used to get up to back home in South Philly.

  
He immediately set down the paperwork he had being doing at the reception desk, walking over with an eyebrow raised in a silent question, _“is this because of something stupid?”_

  
He finally got to patch Babe up when he came around, being brought into the room by an overly amused Renée and a nervous looking fella who he believed was Bill Guarnere, based upon the descriptions he had received from Spina. The boy – _man?_ He looked more like a boy despite his age – didn’t appear to be concussed, just a little out of it, probably down to the shock. He needed stitches and Eugene had made a mental note to discuss this with Spina and his friends once he was done here.

  
“Is anyone going to tell me –“ he looked around the group, frowning, “–or are we going to stare each otha’ out until Heffron comes out an’ tells me himself?”  
The shaggy haired brunette spoke up first, letting out a laugh like this wasn’t a serious situation and Eugene’s jaw clenched slightly at the sound. “Let’s just say my beautiful piece of work, which sweat, blood, and tears went into, was ruined.”

  
“What he means –“ a deep voice almost caught Eugene off guard, “–is we were getting back at them for sending us shit, and it went wrong.”

  
Eugene looked at the man and wondered if he was a heavy smoker, or if that was just the way his voice was naturally.

  
“That doesn’ clear up the ambiguity surrounding how he got injured.” He said.

  
Silence filled the air. Eugene realised he was probably overreacting just a little, and possibly creating a bit of a scene in front of the few stragglers lingering around the waiting room but he felt inexplicably annoyed by the events and didn’t want to let people off with it. Once he had written off the chance of Edward having a concussion he had calmed inside, but that didn’t do anything to quash his anger over their carelessness.

  
“We overfilled the buckets because we wanted there to be enough in them, y’know, and it must’ve dripped more than we realised from where they were placed over the door and Babe slipped when he walked in.” A smaller guy said, looking guilty. _Good._

  
“It was an accident.” Spina supplied unhelpfully, walking over to Eugene.

  
“It don’t matter if it were an’ accident or not, somebody got hurt because y’all decided prankin’ each otha’ was a good idea an’ didn’t stop to consider the safety o’ the people involved.” Eugene berated.

  
“Aww c’mon Doc.”

  
“No, y’all are grownups, you oughtta know better.”

  
Eugene spent the next ten minutes lecturing them about how careless they had been with the prank, and that they are lucky that Babe’s injury wasn’t any worse than it was, and that he was disappointed in Spina because he had higher hopes for the man. He even gave George Luz a fright when he raised his voice, accent thickening with each word.

  
“Disgracié, se comportant comme des enfants.” Eugene muttered under his breath just as Babe was led out into the waiting room with Guarnere.

  
“Jeesh guys, I didn’t die or nothin’,” Babe joked easily when he noticed how quiet everyone was being.

  
The guys didn’t even want to imagine what their telling off would be like if that had been the case.

 

***

 

Looking back at his track record, Babe had to admit that he had suffered a lot worse over his twenty-one years of life. Sometimes it was just purely accidental; he enjoyed climbing things and exploring so falling from trees, roofs, and walls was purely inevitable. Other times it was just because he was a decent human being.

  
_Babe was meant to go straight home after school – his ma’s orders. He was a good boy, liked to think that he was a good son and didn’t break the rules too often, but Bill hadn’t stopped talking about the new swing set at the park and Babe just had to experience it for himself!_

  
_He wouldn’t spend too long there, just a quick diversion from his usual route and maybe allow himself to have five minutes at the park just so he could say that he had seen it and decide whether it was really as good as Bill had claimed._

  
_He sprinted in the direction of the park, the chilly wind making his bright hair flap about with each step and letting the cold creep into his ears. He didn’t care._

 

_In Babe’s defence, he had planned for five minutes._

  
_When he saw the group of older boys crowded around a skinny figure, he couldn’t just let them be. He would want someone to help him if the roles were reversed and he was in that boy’s shoes._

  
_“Why are you crying Julian?” A voice sneered, laughter erupting from the boys._   
_“You’re meant to be a boy! Why you actin’ like a little bitch?”_

  
_“Does someone want their mommy to come and kiss their boo-boo’s better?”_

  
_“Hey!” Babe called out._

  
_He threw his backpack onto the dirty ground, puffing his chest out as he squared his shoulders. He may be a scrawny kid, but he was never one to back down from a fight._

  
_“Why don’t you go pick on someone your own size!” He shouted._

  
_The laughter he received only made him move closer. He could see the boy on the ground clearly now. He was the new kid that had just moved to his school, but Babe had never spoken to him, had only seen him in class. He was shy and kept to himself and Babe never thought to reach out to him until now._

  
_One of the bigger boys in the group walked over to Babe, shoving him. “Get lost, kid.”_

  
_His ma always said that violence was ‘never the answer when we have the ability to communicate with our words, Babe’, but if the boy was going to push him he wasn’t going to be nice._

  
_“Picking on people ain’t nice.” He said and shoved the boy right back, standing his ground even when it didn’t have much impact on the bigger lad._

  
_By now the rest of the group had walked over to where Babe was stood, circling around him and that’s when he realised that this maybe wasn’t the best idea, but he wasn’t going to turn his back on the new kid now. He could see how scared Julian really was, even now when he was no longer surrounded by his bully’s, and Babe couldn’t just leave it at that. A point had to be made here._

  
_He was shoved again by the same boy, and he stumbled back when he lost his footing. His back met the chest of the boy behind him and he was shoved again, this time forward, but he managed to regain his balance and punch one of the boys in the nose. He winced at the pain that blossomed in his skinny knuckles but landed another punch before one was landed on him._

  
_‘’You little fucker!” The boy he punched shouted._

  
_Babe didn’t have a chance to reach up to his face before he was punched again, blood gushing from his nose which took the second hit. He cried out in pain but lunged forward at a black-haired boy, despite his extreme discomfort and managed to catch him off guard, knocking him to the ground._

  
_“Fucking deck ‘im Malcolm!”_

  
_“Kick the ginger cunt!”_

  
_Babe gasped for air when he felt a foot colliding, hard, with his side, sending him flying into the dirt. His face skidded along the gravel of the path and he felt his skin start to sting as it was torn with the impact. Bile rose in his throat and he swallowed it back down._

  
_He kicked out in retaliation as he felt feet hitting him from all directions, words of abuse being thrown at him as they battered him._

  
_“Ah shit, Guarnere is coming over!” He heard one of the voices yell, panic evident in his words._

  
_They fled._

  
_Despite the beating he took Babe still managed to drag himself up off the ground and limp over to Julian to check on him, and from that moment on the two became best friends._

  
If Babe was given the chance to go back in time and change things that he had done in his life, he sure as hell wouldn’t change that moment and back down from the fight. Maybe he’d try harder to land some punches on the bastards, maybe even try to avoid the broken rib that he got along with a pretty nasty concussion that had his ma thinking that he was going to die. He could still remember the look on his face when Bill brought him back home with a trembling Julian in tow. Even sitting at the hospital and telling the story of how he got into that state, Babe had felt good because he stood up for someone who needed help and that was a feeling he wouldn’t give up for the world.

  
He was disrupted from his thoughts when he heard someone banging on the apartment door, a voice on the other side shouting his name.

  
“Open the damn door, Heffron!” Liebgott.

  
With a soft groan, Babe stood from the couch. He tugged the fluffy blanket tighter around his shoulders and shuffled over to the door, opening in and standing aside to allow Liebgott in, fixing him with a pitiful stare.

  
“Fuck me that’s one bruise.” Liebgott pressed his fingers to the bruise around the cut and Babe let out a feline like hiss, swatting at his hand.

  
“Oh fuck off Lieb, it bloody hurts.” He said petulantly.

  
Babe sat back down on the sofa and watched as Liebgott pottered about the living room, stopping near the mantel piece to look at the photos framed above it displaying pictures of Babe and co. back in South Philly.

  
“Just realised I’ve never been here before.” Liebgott said, casting a brief glance in Babe’s direction.

  
Babe was about to ask why that was but he knew the answer already. Despite how close the two had become since he had started working at the bar, he had never once invited Liebgott over. He hadn’t neglected their friendship, has invited Lieb to plenty of things in truth, just never to his place.

  
“Shit Joe –“ he breathed out a heavy sigh, “–I never even caught on. You know you’re always more than welcome here, right? I always thought you had been here before but it must’ve been Luz’s place you have seen.” They never threw parties here. It was always Luz’s place that they used for that sort of stuff.

  
“I ain’t crying about it Babe.” Joe laughed.

  
Babe shrugged and propped his feet up on the table, no longer feeling concerned about having hurt Joe’s feelings somehow. He did, however, wish Lieb would have mentioned it at some point over their time knowing each other so they could’ve crossed that off in their list of firsts.

  
“Anyway, I came over to beg you to swap shifts with me and come back a day early. The new guy has been doin’ my head in all week and I just need a breather, y’know?”

  
Babe had completely forgotten that a new bartender had been hired and started working at the bar already. He had only been off for over a week – Lip insisted that he take as much time off as possible just in case, not that there had been any need for him to be off this long. He was being lazy and just milking it now because why the hell not.

  
“Alright but you owe me. I was badly wounded, still haven’t recovered fully. Could be days, maybe even weeks before I’m in tip top shape again.”

 

“You’re such a fucking drama queen Babe, I swear to God.” Joe snorted.

  
“But you love me anyway, don’t you Lieb.” Babe crooned sweetly, batting his eyelashes at Joe.

  
Joe sat down next to Babe, patting his thigh. “Yeah yeah, whatever you say Heffron.”

 

  
***

 

“That is one hell of a dog, Tab.”

  
Babe approached the bar and peered behind it to see the new guy standing there with a dog, George rubbing fondly at its ears.

  
“Thank you, there you go.” The new guy passed a treat down and let the dog eat it from his hand, obviously keeping the dog happy and content. Why the hell was Nixon allowing the dog to be here?

  
“What’d you call it, Tab?” Babe just gaped when Winters asked the question. He stood, staring at them all, trying to figure out what he had just walked into. He leaves for one week and they hire a guy who brings his dog with him to work?

  
“Trigger.”

“That’s good, I like that. Trigger.” 

  
“What the fuck.” He meant it as in inquiry, but it came out flat, finally catching the attention of the group at the bar. The new guy, _Tab_ , his brain supplied helpfully, just grinned at him.

  
“You must be Babe. I’m Floyd Talbert but you can just call me Tab, everyone else already does.”

  
Babe nodded at him and shot George a look before walking into the backroom to leave his stuff. When he came back out he bent down to look at the dog properly. It was a nice dog, but he had to admit, he was more of a cat person himself. Didn’t like the responsibility that came with dogs and much preferred the fact that cats were happy enough to just go about doing their own thing.

  
“Well you ain’t blind.” Babe said.

  
“That is correct.”

  
“So what’s with the dog?”

  
“Picked her up from the pound a few days ago, poor thing had been there for a while now, and she gets anxious when I leave her on her own so Nixon said I could just bring her along.” Tab explained with a small shrug of his shoulders.

  
“Dick convinced me.” Nixon walked around to pet the dog, glass of whisky in his other hand.

  
Babe was about to ask if this was going to be a consistent thing and if he should start bringing treats with him for Trigger when Speirs walked up to the bar, eyebrows drawn and lips pressed in a firm line.

  
“Carwood is sick.”

  
For anyone this would be normal, hell, Julian had gone to the bar many a times to tell them that Babe was sick rather than Babe actually calling in to inform them; even Web did it for Liebgott. But this was Ronald Speirs, and Babe was convinced that there was nothing normal about the man. He wasn’t scared of him, just wasn’t sure where he stood with him and he didn’t like that.

  
“Nice t’see you too Ron, has been a while.” Nixon replied sarcastically, taking a swig of his vat-69 and grinning and the pointed glare from Speirs.

  
“He didn’t want to be a burden because the man is too good for that, but he’s been training to become a fire fighter and doing the hours here on top hasn’t been doing him any good.” Babe was almost ninety percent certain that was the most he had heard Speirs say in one go since he met the man.

  
“Well I’ll be damned, Lip is finally doing it.”

  
Becoming a firefighter was something Carwood Lipton had always talked about, ever since he was a young boy and watched the local firemen save people from an apartment building that was burning down. He had been inspired by their bravery and the good that they did, and he wanted to be like them. However, when Nixon opened the bar, he chose loyalty to his friend over his own aspirations and dreams and settled for working as a day manager, but it had stopped being enough for him. He only had one life and wanted to pursue his own goals (and still be loyal to his friends, but Ron was putting an end to that before his boyfriend ran himself into the ground trying to please everyone).

  
“He’s stepping away from the bar.”

  
“Aww man, Lip is leaving us?” Babe all but whined.

  
“He deserves a break and a chance to do what he wants.” Speirs deadpanned.

  
Babe understood that but he really liked Lip, got on well with him and appreciated the fact that he would always be looking out for them and making sure that they’re eating properly when they’re doing long shifts and staying hydrated, or bringing them cups of hot chocolate or coffee during the colder weather to perk them up.

  
Hell, Lipton even walked Babe home in the snow once last year because he had been terrified he was going to slip on the ice and crack his skull open.

  
_Babe took his sweet time wrapping himself up after his shift, scarf pulled up over his chin and up to his lips to keep the cold air out from travelling down his chest and settling there. He couldn’t afford to get sick with Christmas coming up._

  
_He made his way out from the back and wandered over to the window, peering out to watch the snow fall heavily from the sky, blanketing the paths and covering the ice that had been exposed earlier. Now it was just deadly out there._

  
_It wasn’t something he was keen on admitting out loud to people, but Babe had never been fond of ice. He had a bad experience when he was 7 and slipped, breaking his arm and leaving him in a cast for 6-8 weeks and basically ruining his Christmas holidays completely. No, he wasn’t scared of the ice, he was scared of what he could do to himself when left to be out on it._

  
_“Babe, what are you still doing here? Your shift finished fifteen minutes ago,” Lipton spoke from behind him and he turned to look at him, smiling sheepishly._

  
_“Was sorta hoping the snow would die down a bit, kinda want a chance to fend for myself a little on the slippery paths.” He explained._

  
_He wasn’t sure if it was how he spoke, or maybe he was expressing how he was truly feeling through his eyes, but Lipton left and came back a few minutes later wrapped up in his own winter clothes and told Liebgott he would be back soon._

  
_“Well what are you waiting for?” Carwood asked upon realising that Babe wasn’t following him to the door. He wanted to protest and say that he was big enough to go out on his own, but really, he didn’t want to be on his own, so he hurried after the man and followed him out into the cold night air, snow covering their bodies and soaking their hair._

  
“I guess I could promote Liebgott to part-time day manager, and see if Harry will do some day’s too. I could cover some nights.” Nixon took out a small journal and started jotted things down. Probably his ideas in case he woke up tomorrow and had no recollection of this conversation even happening.

  
“Good.” Speirs said with a nod.

  
“Anything else, Sparky?”

 

“Yeah, stop calling me Sparky, Lewis.”

 

***

 

It was only a matter of time before the secret was out and everyone knew about it. But Babe was last to find out.

  
George had a habit of opening his mouth and just talking, even if the person on the receiving end didn’t even understand what he was on about. That was how Tab found out. Tab, not knowing fully what George was talking about, spoke to Nixon about it to see if he knew; _“No, but I do know the who that is involved.”_ Nixon then went to Bill, who in turn went to Babe.

  
“What do you mean he chewed the guys out?” Babe had asked after Bill had finally stopped talking.

  
Bill had come back from classes that day a little tipsy, meaning that he had stopped at the bar along the way for a few pints, and declared that he had some gossip to share with Babe. Babe had snorted at the thought of them gossiping like a bunch of fifteen-year-old girls, but quickly changed his mind when Bill had said that it would interest him.

  
“Want me to tell it again?” Bill asked as he finished the second beer he had opened, eyes bright with mirth.

  
“Naw Bill, I did actually get ya the first-time round. I just don’t understand why he would chew them out ‘n why I’m only just findin’ out about it!”  
“Think they were a bit embarrassed to be honest.”

  
Babe snatched the beer from Bill that he lifted and shook his head.

  
“You’ve had enough of our limited supply man.” He told him and took a swig himself, making the most of the refreshing feeling he got from that first sip.

  
Bill frowned but didn’t say anything about it. “Anyway, turns out Spina has been giving the Doc updates on your wellbeing, probably just to reassure him that you ain’t dead or something stupid, because that’d be very you.”

  
Maybe he should be a little offended that nobody seemed to have a great deal of faith in him, even people he didn’t know well. Ok, so he was offended, but he didn’t want to express that outright and come across like a huffy child and give Bill something to tease him about in the future.

  
He decided that it was time to stop sitting around feeling sorry for himself and go out, so he made Bill drink some water and sober up a little so they could drink – and avoid Bill puking over himself if he consumed more so soon after the amount he had already consumed. He searched for his trusty fake ID and put on some of the nicer clothes that he owned for occasions like these.

They left after two drinks because Bill can’t hold his liquor as well as he claims to.

 

***

 

Babe decided he liked Talbert. Discovered that he’s from Kokomo, Indiana, and moved to LA with his friends, just like Babe. He was a funny guy and easy to chat to which was a relief, and also made for a nice break from Liebgott and his constant fights with Web or the customers. _(“You’re still my favourite,” Babe reassured Lieb, flinging a towel at his scowling face. “Tab is just friendlier.” The towel was thrown right back at him._ ) It almost felt like he had known Tab for as long as he has known Liebgott.

  
Nixon, however, was exasperated. He had managed to hire another guy who liked to talk and never shut up and he didn't know how he had managed to tolerate Liebgott and Babe this long without punching the two of them in the face.

  
"I'm going to make myself useful in the back." Nixon muttered after Tab finished his third story.

  
"Well someone is in a good mood. Did we run outta vat 69 or something?"

  
Babe didn't have the heart to tell him that maybe he was talking a little too much when Nixon was around and the man could only tolerate so much over a prolonged period of time. Lipton would've been more than happen to listen to Talbert's story, that was just the kind of man that he was.

  
"I see your cut is healing up nicely."

  
Babe turned away from Talbert to come face to face with Eugene. He was in his normal clothes rather than his hospital scrubs, and his hair was fluffy and messy, like he had been running his hands through it while it was drying and this was the way it had set.

  
He hadn't seen Eugene since that night at the hospital and he had felt a little embarrassed by the whole ordeal. They was certain they could've easily dealt with him at the apartment rather than dragging his sorry ass to A&E and leaving him for Eugene to deal with.

  
"Thanks to your magic hands."

  
"Wouldn't put it like tha', more down t' my years of training." The corners of Eugene's lips quirked up in a small, barely there smile and Babe beamed back at him, teeth on display in a boyish manner.

  
"Lemme get you somethin' to drink, on the house."

  
"You ain't gotta do that, Heffron, I was just doin' my job."

  
Babe protested and badgered Eugene until the man finally gave in and ordered a glass of whisky, saying that he would have one because he has work in the morning and didn't want to be waking with a sore head and a foul mood.

  
"So you're the famous Eugene Roe!" Talbert said loudly as he walked over to the pair, sticking his hand out in Gene's direction.

  
"That'd be me." Eugene chuckled softly and shook Tab's hand.

  
"Heard plenty about you, everyone seems to be a big fan of you, especially our Babe here."

  
"Knock it off, Floyd." Babe huffed.

  
He was regretting ever mentioning his interactions with Eugene to Talbert, and definitely, one hundred percent, regretted adding the fact that he may have a bit of a crush on the doctor. He didn't mean to really, he had just started talking and once he had started it just sort of slipped out. It had started with him telling Tab the story of how he ended up at the hospital thanks for Luz, and that Eugene had been the one to patch him up good, and before he knew it he was talking about the time he ran into Eugene outside the bar not realising that it was him, and just how _pretty_ he had looked.

  
"No harm no foul." Talbert winked at Eugene and left the two alone to go serve a girl who had approached the bar.

  
"That probably makes me sound dead creepy." Babe laughed nervously, wiping the spot in front of him just to occupy himself and his eyes so he didn't have to see if Eugene looked uncomfortable; he wouldn't blame him.

  
"You've talked 'bout me?" Eugene asked.

  
"Well, yeah, I mean...-" Babe scratched the back of his neck and finally met Eugene's eyes, "-You did help me out at the hospital after all, and I ran into you that time here so it was a good story to tell. And besides, Nix talks about you all the time so it's only right for me to join in and sing your praise 'n all."

  
"Sing my praise?" Eugene bit back a laugh watching Babe get all flustered and his skin turn red, spreading down his neck and into his hair line. It was rather endearing.

  
"You're a nice guy! A really good guy, would be wrong not to sing your praise, you know? You're worthy."

  
Babe cursed himself internally for not being able to bite his tongue and talk to Eugene like a normal person. He felt like he was making a fool out of himself, again, and just wanted to come across like a stable human being for a few minutes during their meetings.

  
"Have yo'self a nice night, Heffron."

  
He watched as Eugene got up from the stool he was perched on and left the bar, not even noticing the money for the drink that the man had left in his place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> disgracié, se comportant comme des enfants = disgraceful, behaving like children
> 
> psa, i do not speak french so please, if you do and this is wrong, let me know so i can correct it! 
> 
>  
> 
> so this sort of took a while. i feel like the chapter started off well, and i was actually excited about it when i read it over, but it sort of fell apart as it went on? feels messier towards the end and a little awkward i don't know.
> 
> sorry about it.


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